{"product_id":"a-midwinter-god-encountering-the-divine-in-seasons-of-darkness-paperback","title":"A Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eChristine Valters Paintner\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"I believe we all carry grief that has gone unnamed and unmourned,\" writes best-selling author Christine Valters Paintner. \"Nothing in our culture prepares us to deal with darkness and grief. We are told to cheer up and move on, to shop or drink our way to forgetting the pain we carry. Yet I believe that being faithful to our own dark moments is the path of true prayer.\" In her book, \u003ci\u003eA Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e, Paintner offers an invitation to enter the wisdom of holy darkness and to find there a path toward hope and spiritual maturity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Paintner has experienced multiple journeys through grief that have brought her face-to-face with what she calls the \"midwinter God\"--the seeming absence of the God of life in dark and fallow seasons of loss. She has learned to confront her own terror in that darkness and to approach it with curiosity to see what it has to teach her. This endeavor has illuminated a path for her to embrace a life of profound depth, one that honors both the trials of suffering and the richness of joy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e With her characteristic integrative and creative practices, Paintner, abbess of the online Abbey of the Arts, guides her readers to view darkness as a place where seeds of holiness begin to germinate. Each chapter of this book unfolds as an invitation to grow in understanding of holy darkness and also meditate, reflect, and create with these elements: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Paintner's reflections on various themes of loss and acceptance \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Insights on a scripture passage written by Paintner's husband, John \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e A guided meditation to bring the teachings into your heart \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Prompts for an expressive arts practice to process these insights through creativity \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Reflection questions to integrate what you have experienced \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Writing samples from people who have worked through this material in an online retreat \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003e Autumn and winter are vital to the health of nature and to our own bodies. It is a time of releasing and letting go--a season that invites us to slow down, to welcome the growing darkness, and to grow stiller and quieter. Darkness can be an uncomfortable and uneasy place, but it is also a place of profound incubation and gestation, a source of tremendous and hard-wrought wisdom. With Paintner as our guide, we can encounter this midwinter God with vulnerable courage that leads us to hope-filled wholeness. \u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 192\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 13, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51966627545389,"sku":"9781932057294","price":20.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/XQd2vYILR59781932057294.webp?v=1775534955","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/a-midwinter-god-encountering-the-divine-in-seasons-of-darkness-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}